Devotional: Hebrews 10:10

Humans, if anything, are flawed. It’s not a bad thing, it’s just how we are made. It’s kind of like Kintsugi, the Japanese art of finding the beauty and celebrating the flaws in a broken piece of pottery by repairing it with gold. It emphasizes how much a piece has been used, loved, and served its purpose, and now the flaws become a celebrated part of the pieced.

That’s how we can view ourselves after we’ve come to know and accept Jesus. Absolutely we’re flawed, we were never meant to be perfect, but we also weren’t meant to stay in shame and punishment for our lifetime.

devotional, encouragement, faith, hopeJackie ScottMarch 16, 2026encouragement, faith, Hope in Christ

Discover Your Inner Creativity

In this blog on creativity we’re going to address one of the biggest barriers to creativity:

“I need to be born creative to be a creative person.”

Do you ever think that there is no way you can ever do anything creative, because you were simply not born creative? Do you feel that creative people were born with crayons in their hands and came out scribbling works of art by the age of two or writing arias by the time they were four? There are rare cases of child prodigies, but most people find their creativity by playing and realizing that that’s when they are happiest.

encouragement, creativity, Resources, tipsJackie ScottFebruary 23, 2026creativity, encouragement, creative tips

Devotional: Romans 4:20, 22-25

Have you ever made a promise you couldn’t or didn’t keep? Yeah, I have too. We try our best to keep our promises, but we’re human. We’re naturally flawed, and were never meant to be perfect.

But God is.

One of the most perfect things about God is his promises. We can trust in God that when he promises something, it is as good as done. Now coming to discern what is God’s promise and what is our own wish or imagination is not as easy. We can trust the promises God gives us in the Bible because they’ve been passed down for thousands of years. He promised Abraham that he would be the father of nations even though he and Sarah were too old to have children. He promised the Israelites that they would get out of Egypt. He promised to send us a saviour, and he has done that in Jesus.

All we have to do on our part to live God’s best for our lives after we’ve accepted Jesus, is to love God and love everyone else. Not too hard, right?

encouragement, devotional, faith, hopeJackie ScottFebruary 16, 2026encouragement, faith, hope

It's All About Love (Luke 10:27)

We know that God loves us no matter what, whether we’re having a good day or a bad day, whether there is rain or sunshine, and we have that love available to us every day and every night of our lives. God’s love is unending, forever with us, and forever for us, for each and every one of us. Because God loves us, we know we can love him, too. We can love him first and foremost, honouring his love with our own.

devotional, encouragement, Love, hopeJackie ScottFebruary 9, 2026encouragement, love, kindness, Luke 10:27

Word of the Year

This is the time of year when most people are making resolutions, setting goals, and welcoming the new year. But what if you’re not interested in setting resolutions that are broken within minutes of “Happy New Year!” being shouted across the land?

Why not focus on a Word of the Year?

encouragement, creativity, faith, ResourcesJackie ScottJanuary 5, 2026encouragement, Planning, Word of the Year

CAUTION: Making Pottery is Addictive!

The beauty of working with clay, is that the possibilities are virtually endless. The lump of clay can become anything you want it to be, if you treat it carefully and with respect.

Pottery, Resources, tips, creativityJackie ScottFebruary 24, 2025pottery, encouragement, creativity, creative practiceComment

What I Learned from "The Gap and The Gain"

The “Gap” represents the space between our current reality where we are today, and where we aspire to be. If you’re always looking at where you want to be and think that you’re not there yet, you’ll always feel a sense of desperation, of lack, of not being good enough.

The “Gain”, however, is the space between where you are today and where you’ve started. That is always the most positive space to be.

From that brief description it might sound like you should never have lofty aspirational goals and should always be reminiscing about the past, but that’s not the truth of the message. Yes, look back to appreciate what you’ve accomplished as you are working towards those lofty goals, because where you are today was once a lofty unreachable goal itself.

Book Review, tips, encouragementJackie ScottJanuary 13, 2025encouragement, perspectives, the gap, the gain, the gap and the gain

How Do We Know If We're Creative?

If you’re someone who doesn’t think you’re creative and have believed that all your life, how do you know once you’ve “become” creative? Is there some sort of graduation ceremony, where someone bestows a gap and gown on you saying “Now you have earned the title of Creative.”

Nope.

No bells, whistles, gaps, gowns, or flowers.

Being creative is not a distinction that is granted upon you from other people, such as someone who you consider creative saying “yes, now you are creative.”

Being creative is a decision.

It is a mindset.

It is owning the creativity you were born with.

creativity, encouragement, hopeJackie ScottJanuary 6, 2025creativity, hope, encouragement, I Am Creative, positive mindsetComment

Reaping the Joys (and Tears) of Quilting

This verse is a reference to sowing seeds for farming; the hardship of whether the seeds will sprout, what the weather will do, whether insects or disease will blight the crop. There is much to stress and worry about and only so much you can do, so you need to have a lot of faith. But come harvest time, there is joy. Few of us farm these days so we may have lost touch with this Psalm, but it still has relevance.

Like I mentioned above, you could apply the same to quilting or other types of creative activity. When you’re quilting there’s all kinds of areas that things can go wrong:

creativity, Quilting, tips, hope, devotionalJackie ScottDecember 23, 2024encouragement, quilting, overcoming mistakes, progress not perfectionComment

How a Morning Routine Changed My Mindset

How do you like to start your day? A quiet cup of coffee in a favourite chair? A cup of tea while listening to the radio? Sitting silently and just giving your mind, body, and soul a few minutes to wake up and enjoy the morning? Or do you drag yourself out of bed at the alarm, rush to check your phone for the latest news, social media posts, emails, and scramble to get ready for work?

I used to rush and scramble every morning, but since I started a new morning routine in December 2022, I’ve been much more productive and pleasant in the morning — at least on the days I don’t miss the alarm clock.

Two Big Fears

What if you can do this new skill? What if you pass the test? What if people don’t even notice if you fail because they are so wrapped up in their own lives (spoiler alert: everyone on the planet except your nearest and dearest are too busy with their own lives to worry if you succeed or fail at something, and your closest companions will always cheer you on and support you.)

faith, encouragement, FearJackie ScottDecember 9, 2024postive mindset, reframe negativity, confronting fears, faith, encouragement, empowermentComment

Anxiety and Me

I was in an intense “cat-like state of readiness” no matter what the situation: when sitting at home, when getting ready to go to work, at work (that was the worst, because I had no control over what happened or when), and even when trying to go to sleep. If you’ve ever experienced any kind of anxiety, you’ll understand the feeling. If you haven’t, I’m glad you have been spared that, and pray you are always blessed to never experience it.

Battling Negativity

Ever had a moment of doubt or negativity? Like I did when I was nearing the end of my pottery mentorship, had a ton of work, but nothing cohesive enough for our exhibition?

I gathered all the pieces worked on during the time and felt like it was a waste of time

Peaceful Adventures

There is something blissfully peaceful about a cat napping. It's like they've perfected the art of contentment and rest, enjoying the moment, not worrying about the next thing to come. Where do you find moments of peace in your life?

Is it catching a quick nap through a busy day? Or taking a quiet walk in the woods?

Rest

Who loves naps? Do you have a favourite place to curl up for a quick cat nap, like our cat Harry? The piano bench is one of his many napping spots.

Do you feel that too often we neglect our rest? Cats may have the right idea.

encouragement, time management, hope, NapsJackie ScottOctober 7, 2024Rest, spiritual encouragement, encouragementComment

Excerpt 3 from 21 Days of Encouragement

This is a continuation of yesterday’s verse about not worrying about anything, but praying about everything. “God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.” Or “The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (NIV)

book excerpts, devotional, encouragementJackie ScottSeptember 30, 2024encouragement, spiritual encouragement, inspiration, daily devotionalsComment

Excerpt 2 from 21 Days of Encouragement

Why wouldn’t everything be possible with God? He created the universe and everything in it. Everything from stardust to molecules, to the smallest specs of minuscule particulates to the largest planets and vast galaxies. Why would anything be impossible for him? So, why do we limit what he can do through us?

encouragement, devotional, book excerptsJackie ScottSeptember 23, 2024faith journey, daily devotionals, encouragement, spiritual encouragementComment

Excerpt 1 from 21 Days of Encouragement:

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.

Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you.

I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

Fear and discouragement often go together. It is so much easier to be discouraged when we feel afraid. It is so much easier to be afraid when we are discouraged. It’s kind of like bacon and eggs, Laurel and Hardy, peanut butter and jam, or any other pairing here that makes sense to you.

Goal Setting

One of the things I love doing when we drive up north is taking pictures of the Canadian Shield rocks pushing out of the ground. They are SOLID! Seeing something so sturdy reminds me of setting goals.

I never used to set goals, I'd have random wishes like "maybe one day I'll do this..." Then a few years ago I decided to be firm with setting my goals. Three books and a lot of minor goals later, I'd say goal setting works.

goal setting, encouragement, tipsJackie ScottSeptember 15, 2024encouragement, confidence, tips, breaking down goals into smaller stepsComment